Ginny nudged Hermione on the side, bringing her attention back to her friend.
"What was Malfoy doing over here?" she asked through a strained voice. "I swear to Merlin that boy does not know when to quit!"
Hermione sunk her teeth into her lip, uncertain how to reply. Even if she did tell Ginny about her conversation with Malfoy, she surely wouldn't believe it! Hell, Hermione herself barely believed it. He must be just as drunk as she was and misunderstood what she said or something. And yet, he had seemed so adamant in claiming that he agreed with her…
"Hermione!" Ginny snapped.
"Sorry, I…"
"… Got lost in your thoughts again?" Ginny finished for her. "Yeah, you keep doing that. You sure you okay?"
"I swear!" Hermione affirmed, taking a large gulp from her cup for good measure. Ginny's eyes grew big as she witnessed her friend take three more swallows. Hermione consumed the final drop and set the glass back down on the table. "Don't worry, it's water," she assured her friend.
"Oh, thank Merlin," Ginny sighed with relief. "For a moment, I was certain that you'd end up in St. Mungo's by the end of the night!"
Ginny rose from her seat beside Hermione and outstretched her hand, motioning for Hermione to latch on.
"What's this for?"
"It means that you need to get up and socialise with everyone else. I don't know what Malfoy said to you this time, but you can't let him spoil our evening. Get up, or I'll be forced to find some other method!"
Ginny thrust her hand out with a bit more conviction, and Hermione latched onto Ginny, who pulled her up from the bench.
Hermione flattened out her robes and returned her attention to her friend. "And now what?"
"And now we go back to the original plan," she responded with a devilish grin.
Hermione thought for a moment and then connected the meaning behind Ginny's words. "Oh, not this again!" she complained, no longer as willing to immediately play along. "You really aren't going to stop, are you?"
"Absolutely not," Ginny beamed. She linked her arm with Hermione's and dragged her away from the walls of the Leaky Cauldron and more into the centre of the room. "Look all around you! There are at least fifty wizards here! Certainly at least one of them strikes your fancy!"
The memory of Malfoy turning back and smiling at her popped into her brain, but Hermione immediately shoved it aside. There was no way she fancied him! He just… intrigued her.
She needed to come up with another word to describe it. Fascinated her? Hmm. Captivated her? Oh, no, that wasn't it. Interested her? Not that either. Well, she'd just have to settle on 'intrigued' for the moment.
But regardless of what word she ultimately chose, ' fancied' was nowhere near the right term! And to prove it, she'd entertain letting Ginny pick someone for her to chat up.
"How about that wizard over there?" Ginny suggested, pointing to a man on the opposite side of the room.
Hermione cocked her head and analysed the man in question. He seemed decent enough. His robes were crisp, which suggested that at least he wasn't a complete and utter slob, and his haircut was appealing enough. It was short on the sides and slightly longer on top, making him look taller than he was, but it was still a good look. She looked a bit closer and noticed that he had one of his ears pierced, and her upper lip shifted into a slight grimace. Not that she didn't respect his choice to do that – it just wasn't her preference.
"No, not him," she eschewed.
"Hmm," Ginny contemplated, scanning the room for another wizard. Hermione began to look around as well, yet she kept getting distracted by the white blonde hair not too far behind her on her left. She quickly turned the other direction, but his sharp features still cut into her vision. He would be infinitely easier to block from her mind if he didn't stand out so much in a crowd!
"The guy over there's pretty cute," Ginny proposed, tilting her head towards a wizard seated at the bar. "A bit older than you, which could mean more experience?"
Hermione rolled her eyes at Ginny's commentary, but still considered the latest candidate. She did have to admit that this one was fairly attractive. He had a bit of a scruffy beard, and she imagined that without it, he'd be much more her type, yet it didn't distract her enough to eliminate him as a possibility.
"He seems decent," Hermione said, and as soon as the words escaped her mouth, Ginny yanked her by her wrist and dragged her towards the bar.
"What in Godric's name are you doing?" Hermione commanded.
But Ginny didn't say another word until they had reached their destination and were standing next to the mystery man. Ginny wedged herself between him and another wizard next to him and leaned up against the bar, facing him. She let out a slight cough, and the man gave her a quick look up and down and dropped his jaw before lifting it back up.
He appeared as if he was about to talk when Ginny started first. "Do you mind if my friend and I join you?"
He glanced at Hermione and returned his gaze to Ginny, staring at her a bit flabbergasted for a moment, until he snapped himself out of it. "Yes, of course. Let me buy you a drink. What are you having?"
"Firewhisky for me," Ginny answered and turned to Hermione for her response.
"Just water."
"She'll have a firewhisky as well."
"Three firewhiskies!" he yelled to a bartender.
The man dug in his pocket for a few Sickles as Ginny tugged on Hermione's arm, forcing her next to him.
"So, um, what's your name?" Hermione started off. She had always hated small talk, wanting to dive right into more meaningful discussion, but she supposed there wasn't a much better way to start a conversation with someone she had just met.
"Christopher," the man responded as the bartender returned with their drinks. Christopher handed her one of the glasses of firewhisky.
"Nice to meet you, Christopher. I'm…"
"Hermione Granger. I know," Christopher quickly interjected with a wide grin.
Hermione returned a fake smile. Of course he recognised her, but it would have been nice for him to at least let her pretend as if the entire wizarding world didn't know her name and face. It killed the illusion that she could go up to someone and meet them just like any other ordinary witch or wizard.
Ginny snatched the third glass of firewhisky and quickly threw it back before setting the empty glass down on the bar. "Well then!" she exclaimed. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Christopher, and thanks for the drink."
She gave Hermione a wink, and before Hermione could beg for her to stay, Ginny had left her alone with Christopher. Hermione gave him a soft smile and pretended to take a sip from the firewhisky she had no desire to consume.
"So, Hermione," he started off. "How does it feel to know that you helped save the wizarding world?"
Hermione's heart dropped. Any lingering hope she had that this could somehow turn into proper, intellectually stimulating conversation was now doomed. She would have left if she didn't know that Ginny would instantly drag her back or force her to find another man that would result in the same thing. Ginny didn't understand. She had been with Harry since the end of the war and didn't have to endure this endless cycle of dead ends. While Ginny had played a part in the war efforts, she wasn't nearly as recognisable as Hermione.
Well, that wasn't a fair statement. Ginny was famous in her own regard as a Quidditch player. But that was different. People would sometimes ask her for an autograph, but everyone wanted to have a conversation with Hermione about the war. Didn't they know that there was more to her than what she had done six years ago?
"To be honest, I don't think about it much nowadays," Hermione said in an attempt to veer the conversation in any other direction. "I'm currently working on achieving equal rights for house elves."
"Oh, but how could you not!" Christopher cried, utterly ignoring the second half of Hermione's statement. "I mean, you watched Harry Potter kill You-Know-Who." He paused for a moment as his eyes light up in newfound excitement. "Merlin's beard, you know Harry Potter! What's he like?"
Hermione's heart sank to her stomach. It was her second least favourite topic after the war itself. If people weren't asking her about the war, they were inevitably asking her about Harry. Was it too much to ask that people just want to know her?
"Umm, well, Harry's -"
"A complete tosser if you ask me," came a voice from behind her. She didn't need to look to know who it was. A slight rush flowed through her system, and for the first time in her life, she was not entirely irked by his presence.
Christopher looked back and forth between Hermione and their new guest, mouth agape in shock. "But you're…"
"Yes, yes, it's a mini Wizarding War reunion in the Leaky Cauldron tonight. How lucky you must be to not only run into Gryffindor's princess but also the man who nearly spoiled it all?" Malfoy snarled with heavy sarcasm. "Now, go scurry off and tell all your boring friends about this one exciting moment in your otherwise dull life."
Christopher reverted his attention to Hermione, appearing to wait for her to protest, but she remained silent. Disheartened, he let out a resigned sigh. "In that case, it was an honour to meet you, Hermione," he said with a polite nod. He picked up his half-finished drink as Malfoy stared him down as he left the unlikely pair alone at the bar.
"You're welcome," Malfoy commented with assured confidence.
Hermione finally whipped her head and around and faced him. "And what exactly am I supposed to be thanking you for?" she spat, any part of her that had momentarily be pleased by his presence now gone.
Malfoy laughed to himself, not slightly fazed by Hermione's retort. "For saving you from that dreadful conversation."
The fire started to rise inside of Hermione. "Save me? I don't need saving, let alone saving from you, Malfoy!"
"Fine, then don't call it saving," he conceded with no indication of actual acceptance. "But you can't seriously tell me that you were enjoying that conversation."
Even though he wasn't wrong, Hermione didn't want to give him the satisfaction in knowing that she really was grateful to have escaped. "He was a lovely wizard," she blatantly lied, but Malfoy saw right through the façade.
"Oh please, Granger," Malfoy scoffed. "He was about as interesting as a flobberworm. Hell, I'd even venture to say that Weasley might have been more interesting than him. At least he would have been smart enough to talk about your house elf legislation instead of the war."
Hermione had a million different responses racing through her head. While it was a backhanded compliment at best, he had said something… not awful about Ron. But there was something much more pressing on her mind.
"Wait a moment," Hermione hesitated. "How did you know I mentioned my house elf legislation?"
Malfoy rolled his eyes. "You seem to have forgotten just how loud you are, Granger. I expect half the bar could have heard your rambling."
He continued to stare at her with his usual air of arrogance, but Hermione didn't let it faze her. Hermione knew that she tended to use a louder voice than most normal people, but the pub was fairly crowded, and she found it hard to believe that he had merely overheard their discussion.
"You know, if you wanted to keep talking about my proposal, all you had to do was ask," Hermione defended, a knowing tone in her voice.
Malfoy scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself, Granger. This is all just the alcohol talking."
"Drunk words are sober thoughts," she protested.
"Is that some sort of Muggle nonsense?"
"It is not nonsense! Or are you admitting that you only agreed with me about how equal rights for house elves because you're drunk?"
"Believe it or not, no."
Hermione paused for a moment. Her alcohol buzz was only now starting to diminish, but her memory was still not as fully sharp as usual. "I'll be honest, because of the way I phrased the questions, I'm not totally clear on what your answer meant."
Malfoy rolled his eyes. "How many times do I need to say it? I agree with you."
Hermione stalled again as she tried to gather her thoughts. "Okay, but I…"
"You're reading too much into this, Granger," Malfoy droned. "Now I beg that we talk about literally anything else."
She looked at him curiously. "And what else are you and I supposed to talk about?"
Malfoy looked around for a second, picked up Hermione's still full glass of firewhisky, and walked a little bit away until he pulled out a chair from a nearby empty table. With a slight wave of his hand, he indicated for Hermione to join him.
She remained planted at her spot for several moments, contemplating whether or not she should follow his lead. This was Malfoy, after all. But blame it on the booze or her unyielding curiosity, she gave in to his request and joined him in the partnering seat.
"Now, Granger, was that so hard?"
Hermione sat up straight in her chair, still cautious towards showing much more easiness around him. "Get to your point, Malfoy," she countered. "What do you want from me?"
Malfoy rolled his eyes and kicked his feet up onto the table. "Can't two old schoolmates simply catch up?"
"Oh, please," Hermione scolded. "You and I were never 'mates.'"
"And what a shame that is," he added nonchalantly, looking Hermione directly in the eyes.
Hermione glared back and narrowed her lids to examine him, but oddly, she couldn't detect any sarcasm. As he continued to look at her with his cloudy eyes, an ever so slight smile started to appear from the corner of his lips. The more she looked at him, the more confused she became. While his tongue was still just as sharp as she had remembered, the words out of his mouth continued to surprise her.
But her focus was quickly interrupted.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Ginny shouted as she pushed her way through the crowd towards their table.
"Here we go again," Malfoy mumbled under his breath as Ginny approached their side. He slid his legs off the table and shifted his body in her direction. "Well, well, Weasley. Here to steal Granger, I presume?"
She stuck up her hand in Malfoy's face, ignoring his presence. "What happened to Christopher?"
"Christopher was a bore," Malfoy responded lazily, knocking her hand out of the way.
Ginny snapped her head towards him. "I'm not talking to you at the moment, Malfoy."
"And yet, here you are, talking to me," he smirked.
She let out a grunt and redirected her attention back towards Hermione. "Well?"
"He only wanted to talk about the war," Hermione bitterly explained.
Ginny let out a sigh, her shoulders drooping in the process. "Well, that's a shame. But let's go find you someone else."
She reached out and grabbed Hermione's hand, attempting to yank her away from the table, but she remained rooted in her seat, still across from Malfoy. Ginny looked back at the dead weight preventing her progress, confused at Hermione's lack of movement. She pulled again, but Hermione tugged back, causing Ginny to lose some of her balance and stumble back towards the table.
"Come on, let's go," Ginny commanded, but Hermione still didn't budge.
Hermione looked at her friend and back over at Malfoy, who was observing the scene with an amused grin. His arms were folded across his chest, and he was slumped down in the seat, resembling a boy watching his favourite show on television. He was arrogant and snarky, and for some reason, Hermione didn't want to leave.
"I'm, um, actually going to stay here."
Based on the widening smile on Malfoy's face, he was quite pleased with her decision.
Ginny stared at the two of them. "And why would you ever want to spend more time with Malfoy?" she hissed.
Malfoy laughed. "She finds me…"
He paused for a moment, thinking of how to finish the sentence.
"Intriguing." Hermione completed.
Malfoy smiled again. "What a fitting word. She finds me intriguing."
Ginny looked at her friend in disbelief, confusion, and complete bewilderment. "You sure?"
Hermione looked at Malfoy again. He raised his eyebrows at her and then flashed her that smirk. Against all her better judgment, yes, she was sure.
She nodded at Ginny who just shook her head in continued scepticism.
"Well, okay then," she finally resigned, and then glared at Malfoy and spoke with a menacing tone. "But I'll be keeping my eye on you, Malfoy."
"I know I'm more attractive than Potter, but that doesn't give you permission to stare," he shot back.
Ginny released one more huff and then stormed in the other direction. When she was just barely out of sight, Malfoy pushed back from the table and stood up.
"We're going, Granger."
"What?"
"Well, I don't intend to hang around here if the Weaslette is going to keep weaselling into our business."
Hermione looked over her shoulder, back in Ginny's direction, and felt torn. She was supposed to be spending the night with Ginny. It was, after all, her celebration. But she was had returned to chatting with Daphne and a group of other young witches and wizards she presumed to be her new coworkers. If she snuck out for just a few minutes, Ginny wouldn't notice, right?
Malfoy was already standing, hands in the pockets of his robes, just waiting for a response from Hermione. She was still undecided, but with a final look at Ginny, she assured herself that Ginny would be plenty occupied for a few minutes. All she wanted was a little time with Malfoy. Just enough to answer some of her questions. Ten, fifteen, minutes tops.
Hermione rose from her chair and gulped down the old glass of firewhisky for some last minute artificial courage.
"Okay, Malfoy. Where to?"
